In Maine, Sustainability Showdown Scraps Seaweed Shindig

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The organizers of a popular festival in the country's biggest seaweed state say they are canceling the event this year over concerns about lack of sustainability.

The Maine Seaweed Festival is a chance for the state's seaweed producers to show off products and celebrate all things related to sea vegetables.

But organizer Hillary Krapf says it's not happening in 2016. She says Maine's seaweed industry has been besieged by a "Gold Rush mentality" that threatens sustainability as seaweed grows in popularity.

The seaweed festival started in 2014 and doubled in attendance to about 3,000 last year. The rise in attendance coincides with growth in Maine's seaweed industry, which quadrupled its harvest from 2004 to 2014.